Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was met with boos during a University of Arizona commencement speech following sexual harassment allegations from his much-younger ex-girlfriend.
Students reportedly handed out flyers ahead of the address encouraging their peers to ‘turn their backs’ when Schmidt, 71, took to the stage on Saturday.
The former executive was speaking about artificial intelligence when his remarks sparked savage backlash from the crowd.
‘I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear,’ Schmidt said, pausing as outraged students shouted in protest, per Business Insider.
‘There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create.
‘The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will. The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence.’
While other speakers received strong applause, Schmidt was met with boos and jeers.
It came after students reportedly handed out flyers referencing sexual harassment allegations involving Schmidt and his ex, Michelle Ritter, according to Tuscon.com.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed at a University of Arizona commencement speech after allegations of sexual harassment from his former partner
Michelle Ritter accused him of stalking, abuse and putting her under an ‘absolute digital surveillance system’ which Schmidt denied
One student spoke to the outlet after demanding the university to cancel Schmidt’s speech.
‘The biggest issue here is they are platforming an [alleged] abuser. And not only are they platforming an [alleged] abuser, they are putting him on stage for commencement/graduation’ Francisco Burke told the outlet.
Schmidt’s 32-year-old ex accused him of stalking, abuse and putting her under an ‘absolute digital surveillance system’. He has dismissed the claims as ‘demonstrably false.’
Schmidt’s speech also drew ire from the Students for Socialism at Arizona University over his remarks on AI.
‘In his speech, he patronized graduates for being “afraid” of AI and admonished students to accept it’s inevitability—even though, in the hands of wealthy tech billionaires like Schmidt,’ Students for Socialism at Arizona University posted on Instagram.
‘Schmidt’s speech insulted the intelligence of his audience. We, the students and the workers, reject his finger-wagging, shameless threats to our value of our degrees, jobs, and lives!
‘Only the working class can determine what the future has in store for us, not the billionaire class!’ The post read.
Schmidt was announced as a speaker at the ceremony back in April.
Ritter filed for a temporary domestic violence restraining order against him late last year, accusing him of locking her out of the AI startup she founded with over $100million of Schmidt’s backing.
Their legal battle began in September of 2024, when Schmidt filed an arbitration against Ritter for breaking a business agreement regarding her company, Steel Perlot.
Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Relativity Space, during the World Economic Forum
Schmidt called Ritter’s allegations ‘demonstrably false,’ adding it was ‘a blatant abuse of the judicial system’ in an 82-page response submitted in October 2024.
In December of 2024, they reached a ‘written settlement agreement,’ forcing Schmidt – whose net worth is said to be $44.8 billion per Bloomberg – to make ‘substantial payments’ to Ritter over her initial accusations against Schmidt in September.
On December 11, a week after that settlement, she filed for a restraining order over alleged domestic violence and made other explosive allegations, according to documents obtained by The Daily Mail.
She accused Schmidt of using his money and experience in tech against her, leaving her nowhere to hide.
‘Please note Eric’s technical background. I literally cannot have a private phone call or send a private email without surveillance,’ Ritter claimed in court documents.
Ritter also alleges Schmidt tried to place ‘a gag order on any sexual assault or harassment allegations and sign a knowingly false declaration that any such allegations never happened.’
She even accused Schmidt of having her parents followed. When police were called and questioned the investigators, one of them allegedly claimed to work for a ‘billionaire’s private security.’
‘Unfortunately, my former partner is extraordinarily powerful and capable and has used every mean[s] to block me from getting access to secure data, devices, finances, or businesses, or to simply live my life in peace,’ she claimed.
Ritter also accused Schmidt of having her parents followed by a private security team which he also denied
However, on January 6, 2025, three weeks after filing, she withdrew the request for a restraining order after having come to a new settlement.
Most of Schmidt’s initial response has since been redacted, while Schmidt’s legal team asked that the court documents be sealed.
The ex-Google chief has long been rumored to be in an open marriage to his wife of over four decades, Wendy Schmidt.
He was the CEO of Google from 2001 until 2011, before serving as executive chairman of the company from 2011 until 2018.
The Daily Mail has contacted Schmidt, Ritter and the University of Arizona for comment.
